You're absolutely right about this form of linguistic discrimination, and research confirms its prevalence. Accent bias functions through the same psychological mechanisms as discrimination against racial minorities or women - creating unfair prejudice based on superficial characteristics rather than substance.
However, I believe our energies are better directed toward challenging these collective biases in our institutions and society rather than placing the burden on individuals to modify their natural speech patterns. Demanding that someone abandon their accent to be considered articulate is fundamentally no different than suggesting someone must have a particular hair color to be considered beautiful - it's an arbitrary standard that devalues our diverse linguistic heritage.
I do understand them though. Having an accent often means people think you are less intelligent than you probably are.
You're absolutely right about this form of linguistic discrimination, and research confirms its prevalence. Accent bias functions through the same psychological mechanisms as discrimination against racial minorities or women - creating unfair prejudice based on superficial characteristics rather than substance.
However, I believe our energies are better directed toward challenging these collective biases in our institutions and society rather than placing the burden on individuals to modify their natural speech patterns. Demanding that someone abandon their accent to be considered articulate is fundamentally no different than suggesting someone must have a particular hair color to be considered beautiful - it's an arbitrary standard that devalues our diverse linguistic heritage.